Boat mooring apparatus



1959 M. J. GOSSEN BOAT MOORING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. '7,1957 I INVENTOR.

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United States-Pa i BOAT MOORINGAPPA'RATUS Mania .1. Gas-tantra; Wis. mApp-nation Novemuerzrys'l, smu No. 6535665 6'Claims. (Cl.114--230) Theinvention relates to boat mooring apparatus.

2,873,712 Patented Feb. I 17,

' at 19. Bumper-strips of neoprene or other suitable In many rivers andestuaries leading to the sea the rise and fall of the tide presents theproblem of securing a boat to its dock or pier to accommodate changingconditions. The object of this invention is to provide a relativelysimple and inexpensive mooring apparatus that will hold the boat up toits dock and permit the up and down movement of the boat incident totide changes.

A further object of the invention is to provide a pair of verticallydisposed guide rails, spaced to receive mooring tackle adapted to beconnected to opposite end sections of the boat to be mored, this tackleincluding a slide member slidably mounted in each upright and normallyurged upwardly to exert a pulling force on a mooring line connected tothe boat, but adapted to move downwardly under the action of the weightof the boat as the tide falls, the mooring lines acting to hold the boatagainst yieldable bumpers mounted on said rails.

The invention further consists in the several features hereinafter setforth and more particularly defined by claims at the conclusion hereof.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a front elevational view of a mooring apparatus embodying theinvention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the apparatus;

Fig. 3 is a detailed vertical sectional view taken on the line 3-3 ofFig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged elevational view of one of the guide rails, partsbeing broken away and parts being shown in section;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 5--5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a top plan view of one of the rails.

In the drawings, the numeral 8 designates generally a boat dock or pierincluding a platform 9 and spaced wooden piles or supports 10 which arepreferably spaced so that a boat 11 can be moored alongside of them.

To each support 10 I secure by screws 10a or otherwise suitably secure awooden two by four plank 12 extending down to the lowest water levelthat may be encountered, the boat being indicated in Fig. 2 as riding onan intermediate water level 13.

The planks 12 serve as foundation members where supports 10 are largeround piles but may not be necessary in some installations.

To each foundation member 12 I secure a metal rail 14 of suitably castaluminum or other suitable metal. By forming the back side of the railas a channel to fit over a portion of the member 12, the rail may besecured to said member by a series of vertically spaced screws 15extending through the legs of the channel and anchored in the member 12.

Each rail 14 has a centrally disposed vertically extending cylindricalguide bore 16 therein opening at its front into a vertically extendingslot 17 narrower than the diameter of said guide bore. The rail 14 alsohas a pair of dovetailed guide grooves 18 disposed on opposite sides ofsaid slot 17 and may be cored out as indicated cushioning material havebase portions ZIfitting' in the groves 18. Each rail has a metal topplate 22 secured thereto by screws 23 and having aneyed springan'chormember 24 mounted therein and depending in'to' th centralportion of theupperend of the bore 16.

A cylindrical metal'slide member 25of, brass or other suitablenon-corrosive material is slidably mounted in the bore 1 6' and has aneyed spring fastener 26 mounted in its top end and an eyed member 27mounted and projecting laterally from its central portion through theslot 17.

A mooring line 28 has an eyed end 29 swivelled or universally connectedwith the eye of the member 27 and at its other end carries a releasablesnap hook fastener 30 adapted to be hooked onto an eyed anchor bracket31 mounted on the boat 11. As previously noted, the supports 10 with therails 14 mounted thereon are appropriately spaced apart so that thebrackets 31 located adjacent one side and the opposite end portions ofthe boat 11 will line up more or less with them.

A tension spring 32 is connected at one end to the anchor member 24 andat its other to spring fastener 26 of each rail assembly.

With the above construction, the springs 32 provide means constantlyacting to move the slide member 25 upwardly in the bores 16 and thus actto create an upward tension in the mooring lines 28 which because oftheir angled or canted relationship with the rail and the boat act todraw or hold the side of the boat against the bumpers 20 on the rails,the members 25 moving up and down in the bores 16 as the water levelrises and falls, the weight of the boat acting through the lines 28 andthe member 25 to extend or expand the springs 32 as the water leveldrops and to keep the lines taught as the water level rises under theaction of the tide.

I desire it to be understood that this invention is not to be limited toany particular form or arrangement of parts except in so far as muchlimitations are included in the appended claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In a boat mooring apparatus, the combination of a pair ofappropriately spaced upright supports, a vertically extending metal railmounted on each support and extending along the same within the limitsof tide variation of the water level, a slide member slidably mounted ineach rail, a mooring line connecting each slide member to the boat to bemoored, and means acting on each slide member to tension its associatedmooring line for varying positions of said boat relative to saiduprights under varying water level conditions.

2. Boat mooring apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the slidemember is a cylindrical block having a swivelled connection with itsassociated mooring line.

3. Boat mooring apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the mooringline has a swivelled connection with the boat and is normally cantedupwardly and outwardly to its connection with said slide member.

4. Boat mooring apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the swivelledconnection of the mooring line with the boat is a releasable snap hookon said line and an eyed fastener on the boat.

5. In a boat mooring apparatus, the combination of a pair ofappropriately spaced upright supports, a vertically extending metal railmounted on each support and extending along the same within the limitsof tide variation of the water level, a slide member slidably mounted ineach rail, bumper strips of cushioning material mounted in andprojecting from the front side of each rail on opposite sides of tisslide member mounting, a mooring line connecting each slide member tothe boat to be moored extending outwardly and downwardly to itsconnection with said boat, a spring means acting on each slide member totension its associated mooring line for varying positions of said boatrelative to said uprights under varying water level conditions andacting on said slide member and its associated mooring line to hold theboat against said bumper strips.

6. In an apparatus for mooring a boat at a dock the combinationcomprising: an extended rail arranged for vertical mounting on a dock; aslide member supported by said rail and being longitudinally slidablethereon, said slide member having a connection for a boat mooring line;and tensioning means acting upon said slide member 4 urging the samelongitudinally upward along said rail to tension an associated boatmooring line for varying posi tions of a boat relative to said railunder varying water level conditions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,155,043 Gorskey Apr. 18, 1939 2,808,016 A lam otrn Oct. 1, 1957HFOREIGN PATENTS 1,031,969 France Mar 25, 1953

